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Disney-Marvel and NetflixNetflix today announced a joint venture to develop four new superhero series for Netflix’s streaming and DVD service. The characters included in the deal are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. The Marvel-Netflix deal guarantees 13 episodes of each series, and a final team-up miniseries The Defenders featuring all four of the characters together. Daredevil will kick things off as the first series to release.

Will these shows tie into Marvel’s current television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the cinematic Marvel universe? No word on that yet, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t tie into the movies — tying together series on different networks/distributors is a bit trickier, so they might just remain mum on that front.

The deal is part of a broader arrangement between Disney-Marvel and Netflix, granting Netflix exclusive first-run subscription rights to Disney and Marvel live-action and animation from Disney and Marvel. With the global popularity of the Marvel films, and with Netflix expanding into more countries while likewise expanding its library of content — including with exclusivity deals like the one it signed with Disney and Marvel — as well as a growing lineup of original programming, the financial implications of the deal are eye-popping.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has enjoyed strong overall viewership, hitting a five-week high this Tuesday and ranking #1 for the evening among males 18-49 years of age, and ranking second-most-watched scripted show overall Tuesday. Data for streaming and recorded viewership shows the program’s total audience is even higher than pure TV ratings demonstrate.

We could see budgeting for these Marvel superhero series in the $5-10 million or more range per episode, depending on the level of effects involved in each show. Netflix has been willing to spend money to make money, simply put, including investing in top talents and high production values for their original programming. Of course, Netflix won’t be financing the shows alone, so how much could Disney-Marvel kick in? Disney and Marvel have tried hard — and succeeded — to tamp down on budgeting and keep costs a little lower whenever possible, and this project no doubt will see the same sort of frugality from the studios.

The new shows will begin airing in 2015, and the deal will spread the release of all four series over several years, similar to the approach with the Marvel films leading into the big team-up movie The Avengers in 2012.

What do you think of this deal, dear readers? Are you happy to see Marvel jumping into streaming programming with their characters? And would you like to see these shows eventually lead into some big-screen Defenders productions? Sound off in the comments below!

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